In 2023, 20 years after she graduated, we asked Laura some questions about her career in meteorology so far:

Are you in the same job as in 2003? If not, what has your career path been over the last 10 years? 

I graduated from the University of Reading in 2003 with a BSc in Physics and Meteorology, since then I joined the Met Office and did my forecaster training and worked as a civil forecaster at Cardiff weather centre. I joined RAF Brize Norton as a forecaster in 2005 forecasting for pilots flying all over the World. I then joined the BBC weather centre in 2007. I’ve worked at ITV on Good morning Britain since 2012.

What do you do on a day to day basis with your work?

I have an early start at 4am Monday – Friday. I get a cab into ITV at 4:15 and en route I read emails, talk to the Met Office forecaster and weather producer, then research the latest weather. I then get changed and go to hair/makeup around 5:00-5:45. I get miked up and head into the studio for the show to start at 6:00. I present 6 weather bulletins during the show. Post show we have a debrief. I’ll then have various meetings with my weather producer, wardrobe or other weather projects. In the afternoon I talk to the news team about weather items for the following day, preparing graphics and news lines. In the evening I have many emails to send to make sure I have all my charts for the next day.

What has been your career highlight over the last 10 years?

It has to be visiting Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic. It’s warming more than anywhere else on planet Earth and the impacts of climate change mean change is happening very quickly, either from the glacier retreat, impacts on nature or the changing landscapes effects on tourism. It was a once in a lifetime experience and it made me want to do as much as I can to talk about and tackle climate change.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve experienced in your working life in the last 10 years?  

The biggest challenge is time, or lack of it. I have a very short duration to deliver a lot of information as clearly and simply as possible, be it my daily weather forecasts during stormy weather or a detailed climate report. 

Where do you see yourself in 2033?

I absolutely love my job at ITV. I genuinely feel I have the best job in the world. I’d love to still be presenting the weather on Good Morning Britain. Plus also continuing my coverage of the impacts of climate change, here and for other outlets.

What aspects of your meteorology degree do you still use in a professional capacity? 

I still use all the applied meteorology content, It’s important to understand the science of the atmosphere in order to explain what is happening with the weather and why.

How has the field changed since you graduated? 

I feel there is much more interest in weather forecasting as we get more frequent and severe weather, plus extreme weather events around the world. Plus more coverage of climate change and the links to extreme weather. Also some items including climate solutions-good news stories.

What single piece of career advice would you give to someone considering a career in weather or climate?  

Other than go for it; you won’t regret it. I’d say give everything a go & keep learning. Take as many opportunities as you can to get as much experience as you can. I read reports and weather/climate articles every day and I’m always learning.

Favourite weather memory since 2013?   

There are so many. I love that I get to tell the British public about the topic I love the most each day. I love giving ‘science lessons’ and explaining how clouds form and what to look out for and why. I’ve loved stading in storms being pelted with wind and rain. My least favorite was forecasting on the day the UK reached the highest temperature ever recorded 40.3°C at Coningsby, Lincolnshire on July 19, 2022, beating the previous record was 38.7°C. It was a sad day as we broke 40°C something that climate change would make increasingly likely in 20-30 years time but we reached it in 2022, much earlier than meteorologists thought we would and the impacts were over 3,500 excess deaths in the UK as a result. The rate of warming globally and the numbers of records being broken is very worrying.

In 2023, 20 years after she graduated, we asked Caroline some questions about her career in meteorology so far:

What A levels did you do?
Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Geography

Why did you choose a meteorology degree?
I enjoyed science and maths and I wanted to do a degree that would give me the opportunity to apply these subjects to real-world problems. I was interested in the natural environment and was attracted to numerical weather prediction as it combined maths with fast paced operations. Plus, storms are cool.

What was the best bit of the course?
It’s been 20 years since I graduated but I still use much of the knowledge I gained to understand the atmosphere in different contexts. The Meteorology degree at the University of Reading covered so much material and I feel that I got so many more lectures and breadth of subject matter than many of my uni friends. I didn’t appreciate at the time how cutting-edge many of the ideas we were exposed to were – the joy of being taught by scientists who are leading the field. Our class was reasonably small and were massively supportive of each other, so I see many of them either at the Met Office or at conferences. Weather and Climate research is a small world – even international conferences can feel like a big family gathering!

How did you choose what to do after you graduated?
I asked around the department to see if anyone had a job (chancer!) and a Professor had a small bit of research funding left over that could employ me as a graduate research assistant for 6 months. After this taste of research I was hooked, and started a PhD in African meteorology at the University of Leeds a year later. I think asking around is a good tactic or contact people you admire/ like their research and ask if they have any opportunities coming up. If you are willing to take short term placements to get your CV going and you are flexible on location, chances are you’ll find something.

What has been your journey from your first job to your current role?
My career has been quite eclectic. I worked in academia and moved to the University of California, Irvine after my PhD. However, I wanted a more permanent role and was interested in real-world applications so becoming a Met Office scientist was a natural move. The Met Office is a great place to work as you can have so many different careers in one organisation – I first worked in model development but had a strong interest in African forecasting so then moved into International Development, working across Africa with several National Meteorological Services.

After having children, I wanted to travel less so moved back to science as Tropical Science Manager. I led/ was involved in several projects across the tropics and for one of these I managed a software project. Through this I could see the transformative power of technology and I realised how enabling good technology and good high-level strategy could be for getting science into services. As a career leap I then moved into technical architecture and am now a Lead Enterprise Architect within our Enterprise Design function. I still supervise PhD students, publish papers and have a link through to science, but I’m working at a higher level within the organisation to understand how to improve the application of weather and climate science to better operations.

What do you do on a day to day basis with your work?
A real mixture, could be anything! Today I had some science meetings listening to details about convection-dynamical interactions, some strategy meetings discussing Agile working practices in product management, an informal chat about the weekends’ forecast with the Chief Meteorologist and some technical discussions about data provisioning with a colleague from New Zealand. I enjoy context switching and work best under pressure so having a busy schedule suits me well.

Where do you see yourself in another 10 years’ time?
I’m open minded and believe that you make your own luck. I probably have a hit-list of things I’d like to achieve in my career, some of them very specific and some thematic. Primarily I want to make sure I make the most of my time and skills.

What has been your best day at work so far?
I was a visiting scientist at Monash University in Melbourne but was also PI of my first flight campaign over Lake Victoria – the day of the first flight was a weekend so I was with my family at a BBQ of a University colleague, and I split my time chatting science and new ideas with my colleague, checking the FAAM website for aircraft updates/ nowcasting on my laptop and jumping in the pool with my kids.

What has been your worst day at work so far?
Getting a grant rejected after pulling 2 weeks of late nights to write it. It’s quite healthy to get rejections sometimes – keeps you on your toes and you learn from mistakes, even if it is frustrating at the time.

What is your most memorable weather moment?
Standing on the Sahelian plain in Mali watching a monster Mesoscale Convective System (MCS) move across the horizon looking like the apocalypse was coming. It’s my claim to fame as that storm turned into Hurricane Katrina (2005) in the Atlantic, and I weirdly ended up in it again a month later in Arran in Scotland (on another field trip) – it was just a lot of drizzle by then!

What A levels did you do?
Physics and Maths

Why did you choose a meteorology degree?
I stumbled into weather when I was a Physics student at the University of Botswana. I met one of the meteorologists and had a very interesting discussion on atmospheric physics.  I quickly became hooked and never looked back. It’s what I’ve wanted to do ever since. So I came to Reading 2 years later.

What was the best bit of the course?
Studying climate and tropical meteorology was really useful for my country’s weather (Botswana), at a good level of detail. Contained fascinating accounts of extreme weather events, plus explanations of why they happen, which has been very valuable at the beginning of my career. 

How did you choose what to do after you graduated?
There wasn’t much choice for me since Meteorology is still in its infantry stage in my country, so I had to join the Meteorology department to contribute the little I had learnt.

Was it easy to find a job, and have you stayed in the same job since you graduated?
It was relatively easy but I have since moved on to other things.

Can you give us an overview of what your job involves?
I started as a duty forecaster, then did TV presentations on weather. After almost a decade, I decided to go back to school to pursue my postgraduate studies. I am still in the study lane, and hope to continue into Doctorate should the opportunity arise.

Where do you see yourself in another 10 years’ time?
I am so interested in climate modelling, so I hope to contribute in Research for African climatology, particularly rainfall variability or cloud physics.

What is your favourite weather?
I prefer sunny conditions. Temperatures in mid 20’s to lower 30’s.

What has been your best day at work so far?
Representing my country as a delegate at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference. 

What has been your worst day at work so far?
I can’t really say I have had that yet.

What is your most memorable weather moment?
The weather moment that affected me most was A ‘Tati-Siding Hail Storm’ in November 2006. I had recently transitioned from a desk forecaster to a fill-in TV weather forecaster when the storm brought heavy winds and large hail of more than 5cm in diameter to the North East District (particularly the Tati). This was my first life-threatening weather event to cover first-hand. It was during that storm that I realised what a huge responsibility weather forecasting is, and from that moment, I have been more than hooked on weather.

In 2023, 10 years after she graduated, we asked Hannah some questions about her career in meteorology so far:

What A levels did you do?
Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Further Maths

Why did you choose a meteorology degree?
I actually did a Natural Sciences Degree at UEA with Maths and Physics majors, but as UEA didn’t have an official physics department I took my ‘physics’ as Meteorology and Oceanography. This really appealed to me as I liked the applied aspects of the maths I had been taking and had a keen interest in climate change.

What was the best bit of the course?
The people that I met – I was amazed how many people there were who really liked weather!

How did you choose what to do after you graduated?
During my degree I did a summer placement in the seismology group at UEA, modelling earthquakes using 3D computer models. This was really hard, as I hadn’t done very much computing before. But it made me realise I really liked research! So, I looked around for PhD projects I could do. During my degree I enjoyed the modules about climate change and renewable energy systems the most, so I looked for PhDs around this topic. I ended up at the University of Reading doing my thesis on ‘The impact of climate variability and climate change on the GB power system’.

Was it easy to find a job, and have you stayed in the same job since you graduated?
To get the PhD there was quite a competitive interview process, and I applied for quite a few before I got mine. Since then, I’ve stayed in academia, working at various different Universities. I have worked as a post-doctoral researcher on 5 projects all thinking about the impact of climate variability and climate change on the energy, insurance or finance sectors. Three of those projects were at the University of Reading, but after this I moved to the University of Bristol, and Loughborough University. It is quite common for post-docs to have to move around after their PhD for these kinds of jobs. In June this year I started a 5-year independent research fellowship at Newcastle University so I think I’ll be still in Academia for a while!

Can you give us an overview of what your job involves?
My job mainly involves writing computer programs to investigate fun research questions! I create models of demand, wind power and solar power for various countries around the world and investigate what weather could cause their energy systems the largest problems. If I find any particularly exciting results I get to write these up as research papers, and go to conferences to present them to other academics. I also do a bit of teaching and supervising of student projects.

Where do you see yourself in another 10 years’ time?.
Hopefully with a permanent lecturer position at a University, working my way towards becoming a professor!

What is your favourite weather?
Sunny windy days – the best days for lots of wind and solar generation, and great days to go to the beach!

What has been your best day at work so far?
The day I passed my PhD viva was a very good day!

What has been your worst day at work so far?
I struggle a lot with imposter syndrome (when you think you’re not good enough to do your job) so I think the worst day was when I went to give a talk at a conference, and someone thought I was a waitress rather than the presenter. Thankfully there haven’t been any more incidents like that.

What is your most memorable meteorological moment?
When I was in high school, we went on a family holiday to Turkey and there was a massive thunderstorm. I’d never seen so much lightning in my life and was totally mesmerised!

In 2023, 10 years after he graduated, we asked Matt some questions about his career in meteorology so far:

What A levels did you do?

Maths, Physics, Geography and English Language

Why did you choose a meteorology degree?

From a young age I was fascinated by the weather and its impact on people and the environment. A degree in the subject enabled me to study something I was curious about whilst also being a good stepping stone towards a career I thought I would find challenging and enjoyable.

What was the best bit of the course?

From an academic perspective the field work and practical elements of the course were undoubted highlights. However a year on exchange studying in New Zealand has provided me with memories and friendships which will last a lifetime.

How did you choose what to do after you graduated?

Having been interested in pursuing a career in meteorology from a young age, I had found that the Royal Navy employed meteorologists. The role also included elements of Oceanography and Hydrographic surveying as well as navigating and ‘driving’ warships. The variety of the job definitely appealed to me as well as the opportunity to travel to some interesting parts of the world, places that I would never have visited otherwise.

Was it easy to find a job, and have you stayed in the same job since you graduated?

I initially became a Science Teacher and whilst I loved being in the classroom, teaching lacked the sense of adventure I was looking for at the time. That being said many of the skills I learnt during my time teaching have transferred over into my career in the Royal Navy.

Can you give us an overview of what your job involves?

That’s a very difficult question as my job is incredibly varied! Over the past few years I have advised the Commanders of Royal Navy ships, submarines and aircraft on the meteorological and oceanographic impacts to operations and how they might look to exploit the environment to gain a tactical advantage. Most recently this has been focused on the underwater environment and hunting submarines. Being part of a team that influences the decisions of senior officers regarding where they take their ship, submarine or aircraft and what they do when they get there can be hugely satisfying and at times a little daunting. However, whilst there is a significant amount of responsibility attached, the sense of achievement when things go well is immensely satisfying.

Now my career has taken a slightly different direction; I am now the Executive Officer (second in command) of an inshore survey vessel. We are responsible for ensuring the safety of navigation in a number of strategic UK ports.

Where do you see yourself in another 10 years’ time?

There are so many opportunities and career paths I could follow within the Royal Navy. I might find myself further specialising as an Advanced Meteorologist or Oceanographer, I have the opportunity to pursue a route which could lead to becoming the Commanding Officer of a Frigate or Destroyer or further develop my survey skills as an Advanced Hydrographic Surveyor. All of these would be interesting, challenging and enjoyable in their own way – deciding which route to take is the hardest part!

What is your favourite weather?

At sea, without doubt calm and sunny; it’s the perfect weather to enjoy the sunset or perhaps a Flight Deck BBQ! Any other time a thunderstorm.

What has been your best day at work so far?

I really wish I could share that with you, but unfortunately that’s not something I am able to talk about!

What has been your worst day at work so far?

This job brings some of the highest highs but also demands some immense sacrifices; I’ve missed birthdays, weddings and funerals but being thousands of miles away from home and missing the birth of my son was by far the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

What is your most memorable meteorological moment?

Occasionally, to protect operational security we need to cut ourselves off from external communications. When this happens we lose access to all the latest model information, observations and satellite imagery which has become fundamental to modern weather forecasting. Producing a number of accurate and detailed forecasts for operational units with nothing more than my own observations and an out of date synoptic chart is a challenge but hugely satisfying when it goes well!

In 2023, 10 years after she graduated, we asked Kerry some questions about her career in meteorology so far:

What A levels did you do?
I studied Maths, Physics, German and Art.

Why did you choose a meteorology degree?
Initially, I was going to study Maths at university. It wasn’t until a weather presenter on TV was quizzed on what they studied at university. They explained they studied meteorology, and it was like a lightbulb moment for me. Having always loved thunderstorms and snow, I knew it was exactly what I wanted to study from thereon.

What was the best bit of the course?
Learning how to forecast the weather, and the field trip to the Lake District. Taking theory and applying it to the real world was very enjoyable.

How did you choose what to do after you graduated?
It felt like a natural progression to go into operational forecasting after graduation.

Was it easy to find a job, and have you stayed in the same job since you graduated?
There were few jobs around at the time, but after some months of perseverance, I was able to secure a forecasting role at WSI (now The Weather Company, an IBM Business). I stayed in this role for 3 years, before moving into a sales role for over 6 years during which time I moved to MetDesk. More recently, I have moved into a more strategic role, titled Head of Growth.

Can you give us an overview of what your job involves?
I help to develop & execute key sales, marketing and product development strategies to help boost revenues, with the focus predominantly on the energy sector.

Where do you see yourself in another 10 years’ time?
Likely continuing to diversify my skillset in other areas of the business.

What is your favourite weather?
I love thunderstorms. So much so, I have visited the States a few times to chase supercells across the Great Plains.

What has been your best day at work so far?
One of my best days early on was when I visited The Weather Channel studios in Atlanta. Meeting some of the presenters, including Jim Cantore, was a particular highlight. In more recent years, one of the best weeks was when I closed 3 deals in one week. The feeling of receiving a signed contract is very addictive.

What has been your worst day at work so far?
Possibly working the nightshifts when I haven’t been able to sleep the day before!

What is your most memorable meteorological moment?
It has to be the cold wave event in Feb/March 2018, coined “Beast from the East”. I always found it incredible how an anomalous area of rainfall in the equatorial Pacific went on to trigger a sudden stratospheric w arming (SSW) event, and consequently, weeks of cold weather in Europe.

In 2023, 10 years after he graduated, we asked Steven some questions about his career in meteorology so far:

What A levels did you do?
Maths, Geography, Biology, General Studies

Why did you choose a meteorology degree?
Meteorology is an exciting and dynamic subject which can provide clear and demonstrable application of maths into real world situations. The variations and variability in our global weather systems have been studied in details for centuries and there are still so many things we don’t know and need to continue to research. This coupled with the demonstrable changes which are occurring in the weather and ocean systems arising as a result of global climate change means that now more than ever we need to ensure that we have a comprehensive understanding of the weather and oceanic systems and how they interact with each other.

What was the best bit of the course?
Global Warming and Climate Change were still relatively new phenomena when I was studying. There was a significant global focus from organisations like the IPCC but key global political commitments such as the 2015 Paris climate agreement didn’t exist. It was amazing to be studying in a field which itself was at the forefront of scientific research and to be able to be actively involved and following the global warming and climate change journey as it was becoming “the next big thing” was an amazing experience.

How did you choose what to do after you graduated?
The 2008 recession meant that the job market was in a difficult place and a lot of organisations had started to remove roles around corporate and social responsibility which was the area I was looking to go into. As a result I took an opportunity to step away from the subject directly and moved into further study undertaking a Masters Degree in Programme and Project Management. From there I went into Project Management for Network Rail the national Rail Infrastructure owner and operator.

Was it easy to find a job, and have you stayed in the same job since you graduated?
I was fortunate to secure funding for my masters degree and as part of this was guaranteed a role in Network Rail. The skills I learned in my time studying Meteorology were invaluable in moving into my further study and career. Whilst the subject was different a lot of the approaches taken to research and management were very similar and the soft skills which were developed in my studies proved invaluable to my further work. I spent eight years in Network Rail undertaking a variety of different roles from Project Management, to Sponsorship and latterly long-term strategic planning where I was responsible for developing a long-term plan for supporting decarbonisation of the rail industry by removing diesel trains from our rail network. After eight years I was ready for a new challenge in my career and took the opportunity to move to the private sector and am now a senior member of a strategic rail advisory team within a major international rail consultancy.

Can you give us an overview of what your job involves?
I’m part of a team of rail advisory specialists who provide advice to public and private sector clients in the rail industry in both the UK and internationally. In this role no two days are the same as we’re always facing new challenges and working with new clients to help forward the rail industry both here and abroad forward making sure that rail plays an integral part of the transport infrastructure. In our business unit everyone has a technical specialism which is used to provide advice to clients. I’m in a really fortunate position that I’m a specialist in rail decarbonisation so I can guess you can say I’ve gone full circle at last and am in a role which I have a genuine passion for as a result of my degree studies.

Where do you see yourself in another 10 years’ time?
I have a genuine passion for rail and am keen to stay in the sector although there are much wider opportunities as our business works across a number of sectors and is a major international organisation. At the minute I’m focused on offering the best support I can around decarbonisation in the rail industry in order to support with the legislative targets of net zero emissions by 2050. In 10 years time we’ll only have seventeen years left to reach that goal which in the rail industry is no time at all!

What is your favourite weather?
I’d probably say wind is my favourite as I love how something you can’t see can have such a massive effect on things that you can. Also nothing beats a nice cool sea breeze on a hot day!

What has been your best day at work so far?
There have been way way way to many to count and list here. I’ve absolutely loved my career so far and have had so many fun times. Some of my best days have been when I’ve been stood on a stage in front of hundreds of railway professionals talking about decarbonisation in rail. Its been amazing to see how in such a short space of time decarbonisation and global warming has become the major topic of the hour and every sector across the whole economy needs professional and experts to support with the decarbonisation journey.

What has been your worst day at work so far?
That one is probably weather related…. I remember in the earlier stages of my career standing at the side of a railway in the dead of night watching a ground works team dig an embankment away to install an underpass and it was raining buckets… I got absolutely drenched but I look back at night shifts like that and smile because we always had so much good fun!

What is your most memorable meteorological moment?
When I was on holiday in Northern Italy I had a hotel room with a balcony which looked onto a series of vast open fields with mountains in the far background. A lightning storm rolled across the fields and I sat there for an hour or so just watching it move through. It was one of the most spectacular light shows I’ve ever seen and I always think about it when there’s thunder and lightning about.

In 2023, 10 years after he graduated, we asked Chris some questions about his career in meteorology so far:

What A levels did you do?

Maths, Physics, Geography, Design and Technology

Why did you choose a meteorology degree?
I enjoyed studying meteorology in geography A-level, probably because I’d always been fascinated to understand the changeable weather we experience in the UK.

What was the best bit of the course?
Applying the theory to real-world problems, such as explaining UK and European air pollution episodes throughout my undergraduate dissertation & PhD thesis.

How did you choose what to do after you graduated?
I spent a year in industry during my undergraduate course, during which time I worked for the London air-quality network throughout the London 2012 Olympics. This inspired me to pursue a career in research, which naturally led me towards undertaking a PhD.

Was it easy to find a job, and have you stayed in the same job since you graduated?
Following my PhD, I took a couple of short post-doctoral positions, both of which were fascinating and great learning experiences. I then looked towards industry and an application for my academic background. I wouldn’t say it was easy to find that first job in industry, as I took some time to evaluate the options, but haven’t looked back since moving to Verisk (formally AIR) in London. I have since moved a couple of times throughout the same industry, experiencing new perspectives and gaining more responsibility to impact weather/climate related business decisions.

Can you give us an overview of what your job involves?
My job involves evaluating risk from natural catastrophes for Brit Insurance. Within the research team, we develop a ‘view of risk’ for all (personally involved in natural) catastrophes that influence Brit’s portfolio of insured exposure. Further to this, we collaborate with external parties, including academics, to help enhance ours and the industry’s understanding of natural catastrophic risk. A large part of my job involves communication, whether that be through external presentations, or through internal knowledge sharing.

Where do you see yourself in another 10 years’ time?
I hope to continue my research within this rapidly-evolving industry and contribute in part to its development. The research community within the industry is growing rapidly, which is great to see. This influx constantly refreshes and challenges long-standing processes throughout the industry.

What is your favourite weather?
I’m a keen cricketer, so it would be remiss of me not to say dry and sunny.

What has been your best day at work so far?
Plural, every time an MSc student I’m co-supervising graduates and finds their first role within the industry.

What has been your worst day at work so far?
Leaving my first industry role, it’s never easy parting-ways, but something that’ll surely happen to most of us.

What is your most memorable meteorological moment?
Possibly due to recency bias, but Storm Eunice in Feb 2022 stands out for me. Not just for the ferocity of the wind speeds experienced in the South of England, but also for becoming quite heavily involved in pre-event commentary and dealing with the post-event fallout with my job.

In 2023, 10 years after he graduated, we asked Matt some questions about his career in meteorology so far:

What A levels did you do?

Maths, physics, geography and chemistry.

Why did you choose a meteorology degree?

I chose a degree in Meteorology & Oceanography partly because growing up on a farm, life and work was always governed by the changing weather which sparked my interest in meteorology and I wanted to understand the processes that were going on above us. I also had a love for the ocean from a young age, especially surfing, so I was excited to further my understanding of weather patterns and their interaction with the ocean. This lead me to choosing a combined degree in Meteorology and Oceanography.

What was the best bit of the course?

I really enjoyed the atmospheric chemistry and chemical oceanography side of my course. With climate change being such a key topic, learning the biogeochemical processes of our ocean and their interaction with atmospheric chemistry, and how it affects our climate and therefore our future was very interesting.

How did you choose what to do after you graduated?

After I graduated I wanted a job that would involve plenty of hands on fieldwork, and hoped to travel whilst working. I chose to apply for positions that included working with environmental sensors and instrumentation to increase my technical knowledge and ability in the field. 

Was it easy to find a job, and have you stayed in the same job since you graduated?

I reached out to multiple companies and research institutes in the UK and abroad, even ones that weren’t recruiting. I was lucky enough to be contacted by a metocean survey company in the summer after graduating. I started almost immediately, and my first task was to fly to Indonesia and install an acoustic doppler current profiler to the bottom of a survey ship, and sail through the Java straights whilst testing the instrument.  I left this role after a couple of years and found a job as a research technician at Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences. This gave me the opportunity to work at the Tudor Hill atmospheric observatory and be a technician for the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series study, conducting shipboard research cruises every month. After 7 years, I then moved to the USA to work as a research technician for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Can you give us an overview of what your job involves?

My current role involves both laboratory and ship-based field work, the lab I work in focuses on the ocean carbon cycle and it’s effect on our climate. I go out on research cruises and use a suite of oceanographic sensors and arrays, and take seawater samples from the water column. I use the data acquired from the sensors and analytical instrumentation back in the lab to help build a picture of the inorganic carbon cycling in the ocean.  

Where do you see yourself in another 10 years’ time?

I hope to be in a position where I am still learning and contributing towards advances in ocean and climate science!

What is your favourite weather?

Hurricanes! Living in Bermuda for 7 years, whilst working for an oceanographic research station, gave me the opportunity to witness multiple direct hits from hurricanes and seeing nature at its most powerful was amazing.

What has been your best day at work so far?

A memorable day at work was conducting an ocean acidification survey in the inshore waters of Bermuda, there was no wind whatsoever, so the ocean was like a sheet of glass and the visibility was amazing. You could see all the corals and fish beneath the boat perfectly, and dolphins were riding the bow wave from our boat.

What has been your worst day at work so far?

The worst day at work was probably when Hurricane Gonzalo blew down the 80ft atmospheric research tower that I had just began working at. It took weeks of clearing fallen trees, disassembling the destroyed tower and repairing the mobile laboratory that it had fallen on top of. Thanks to a lot of support from the scientific community we managed to get the tower rebuilt and up and running a few months later!